Mom's Story, A Child Learns About MS

Available on Amazon and www.marynickum.com

Saturday, December 26, 2015

Study suggests possible inside-out origin for MS

A new study suggests an
inside-out theory of multiple sclerosis in which the disease may be triggered
by the death of brain cells that make the insulation around nerve fibers,
according to a new study from Northwestern Medicine and the University of
Chicago researchers. Creating a mouse-model of progressive MS, scientists also
used a specially developed nanoparticle that prevented MS even after the death
of those brain cells.

The new study shows the
possibility that MS can begin from the inside out, in which damage to
oligodendrocytes in the central nervous system can trigger an immune response
directly. Oligodendrocytes can possibly be destroyed by developmental
abnormalities, viruses, bacterial toxins or environmental pollutants.
Oligodendrocytes are responsible for the maintenance of myelin. If they die,
the myelin sheath falls apart. The death of these cells can activate the
autoimmune response against myelin, which is the main feature of MS. The
inside-out hypothesis suggests that when myelin falls apart, the immune system
interprets the products of its degradation as foreign bodies or antigens,
erroneously viewing them as invaders and beginning a full-scale attack on
myelin, initiating MS.

"Protecting
oligodendrocytes in susceptible individuals might help delay or prevent MS from
initiating. It's likely that therapeutic strategies that intervene early in the
disease process will have greater impact," said Brian Popko, the Jack
Miller Professor of Neurological Disorders at the University of Chicago and one
of the lead investigators in the study.

The scientists also developed
the first mouse model of the progressive form of the autoimmune disease, which
will enable the testing of new drugs against progressive MS. In the study,
nanoparticles creating tolerance to the myelin antigen were administered and
prevented progressive MS from developing. The nanoparticles are being developed
for clinical trials that could lead to new treatments – without the side
effects of current therapies – in adults.

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About Me

Mary J. Nickum is a retired librarian, who is now an editor and freelance writer of fish culture related articles. Her primary focus is on science for the public. She has chosen to extend her science for the public outreach to children.